US Visa Financial Requirements

US Visa Financial Requirements

February 4, 2015 Off By Richard Saelim

These are the financial requirements for the K1 visa as well as he K3 visa in Thailand. When you want to take your Thai wife or Thai fiancée back to the United States you will need to accept legal responsibility for financially supporting your Thai spouse or fiancé once back in the US.

US Visa Financial Requirements

By accepting this you have now become the sponsor by completing and signing a document called an Affidavit of Support during the application process. The US government wants to ensure that when your Thai wife or Thai fiancée gets to the US that you will not need access to State Welfare.

Financial Requirements for the K1 Visa and K3 Visa

In order for you as the petitioner to take your wife or fiancée back to the US you need to meet the income eligibility requirement in the Affidavit of Support showing that you have an income of 125% or over of the poverty line. Active US military only need to show that they meet the poverty line 100%. The chart that has been listed below shows the current US poverty guidelines for 2014 along with an example for calculating that your income exceeds the 125% requirement.

2014 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES
AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Persons in family/household Poverty guideline
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,060 for each additional person.
1 $11,670
2 15,730
3 19,790
4 23,850
5 27,910
6 31,970
7 36,030
8 40,090
2014 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR ALASKA
Persons in family/household Poverty guideline
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $5,080 for each additional person.
1 $14,580
2 19,660
3 24,740
4 29,820
5 34,900
6 39,980
7 45,060
8 50,140
2014 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR HAWAII
Persons in family/household Poverty guideline
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,670 for each additional person.
1 $13,420
2 18,090
3 22,760
4 27,430
5 32,100
6 36,770
7 41,440
8 46,110

The separate poverty guidelines for Alaska and Hawaii reflect Office of Economic Opportunity administrative practice beginning in the 1966-1970 period.  Note that the poverty thresholds — the original version of the poverty measure — have never had separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.

 Calculating Assets as Income:

US Visa Financial RequirementsYou will need to speak to an immigration lawyer in Thailand about the calculation as this is only an example of how to calculate the assets you have as part of your income. Firstly you need to calculate your cash value of your assets such as your house or apartment minus the mortgage bond over it. There must be equal or more to five times the difference between your income and 125% of the poverty line for the household’s size.

 Financial Requirement Examples

As an example you earn $15,112.50 per year in taxable income in the US. You also have a $100,000 home with a mortgage of $75,000.  You also have a bank account with $1,000 in it. The USCIS will more likely than not do the following calculation:

First we need to find the number we need to hit which must be equal to five times the difference between the sponsor’s income and 125 percent of the poverty line for the household size:

  • Your income = 15,112.50
  • The minimum income for USCIS = 17,112.50
  • The difference is US$ 2,000 X 5 = US$10,000 shortfall (Remember X5)
  • House Value: $100,000-$75,000=$25,000 (Equity in your home)
  • Bank Balance= US$1,000
  • Total asset value = $26,000 (US$25,000 Equity + US$1,000 cash in bank)

With this you have now met the minimum financial requirements for the visa. You can also do this if you have a co-sponsor such as a parent. Speak to an immigration lawyer in Thailand to do your calculations for you and gather the proof to show this to USCIS.

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